Jan. 27th, 2006
Westbury England
The thin ash wand stirred the boiling substance thirteen times widdershins. Slightly trembling hands lifted the small cauldron off the flames by its black iron handle. Walking slowly to a pot she tipped the cauldron and let the potion mix with the soil, which caused the fern planted in the pot to disappear. Applause broke Dawn’s concentration and she looked up at her two spectators. Althanea, the Mother figure and High Priestess for the Devon coven was applauding with gusto and smiling broadly. Giles, who was applauding less enthusiastically but smiling all the same stood besides the Wiccan.
“Congratulations,” Althanea said as she walked over and hugged Dawn, “you have passed your next to last test.” Dawn smiled down at the older woman, but her eyes flickered over to Giles. His praise meant more to her than anyone else.
“You did a wonderful job,” he finally said. Dawn let out a sigh of release and fought down the urge to go and hug him. He was, strictly speaking, her boss now that she was in the Watchers Academy. Yet how far she would progress depended heavily on the last test. After saying their goodbyes she walked with Giles back to his car. All Watchers had to have a solid grasp of the basics of magic and she and Andrew, the only other American in the Academy were in a friendly competition. Since he had got to go on a few assignments while she finished school she felt he was still in the lead. Hopefully the next test would prove to be his undoing. He had barely passed and in fact had been put in counseling after his final ordeal. She had asked him about the test but all he had said was “Kobiyashi Maru.”
“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” Giles asked as he held the car door open for her.
“A little,” she confessed, “after seeing Andrew unhinged by his.”
“Yes but Andrew’s hinges were loose to begin with.”
“I never argue with you,” Giles shot her a telling look, “when your right,” she quickly amended.
Giles chuckled as he pulled out onto the road and she had to bite back a minor panic attack. She would never get used to driving on the wrong side of the road! “I’m sure you look forward to running up the Council’s long distance bill by calling everyone and telling them you passed.” Giles said this with a worried look on his face. It was no secret to the eldest Scooby the her relationship with Buffy had suffered of late. It had started with Buffy dating the Immortal, and had escalated when Dawn chose to become a Watcher.
“Yes I’m gonna call her,” she said sounding annoyed, “ I just don’t think she’s going to be as thrilled as the others. But hey, one less call to make this time.”
“True,” Giles said smiling again, “it will be good to see them again.” Xander’s team was due in from Africa today and Dawn looked forward to seeing her “big brother” again. “I must say it will be refreshing to have Xander back for a couple of weeks… and Vi and the rest, of course.”
“Of course,” Dawn replied giggling. She swore to herself not to pick on Giles too much about his pride in Xander. Despite his goofy outlook on life, and flat out refusing to go through the new academy, Xander had turned out to be one damn fine field operative. Many of the new Slayers in training now competed just as hard to get on his teams as Buffy’s or Faith’s. As the two pulled up to headquarters they saw a airport trolley unloading people and luggage. Standing between two young women was Xander, eye-patch and all, directing the unloading process. He hadn’t noticed them pull in on his left but turned to face them at the sound of Dawn bolting out of the car. She ran the rest of the distance squealing in delight and threw herself into his arm for a deep bear hug.
“Dawn,” Xander said happily, “I must say, love the greeting.” He put her down so she could hug Vi and Lena as well. Dawn could see, as Giles approached, the older mans surprise at the sight before him. Tanned and muscular, with sun kissed highlights in his hair, Xander looked very different to someone who hadn’t seen him in a couple of years. “G-man, glad I caught you this time around.”
As handshakes and genuine smiles of greeting were exchanged Giles said, “yes I am relieved to not be called out on an emergency during this changing of the guard as it were.”
“Yeah, I thought you were avoiding me. It seems you were here every year for Willow’s exchange.” Xander said laughing.
“I think she may time her visits around apocalypses,” Giles said dryly.
“Ok gentleman,” Dawn interrupted, clapping her hands to get their attention, “time to carry in the luggage.”
“You mean to tell me that eight Slayers need our help to carry in luggage?” Giles asked.
Xander answered for her, “It’s all gentlemanly and English.”
“True being an gentleman is an English tradition,” Giles replied, “but so is delegation.” At that he walked into the building bellowing for Andrew.
Dawn and Xander exchanged glances. “Have fun,” she said as she walked the Slayers in to show them their rooms.
Later that evening Dawn knocked on Xander’s door. He opened it dressed in sweat pants with a Snoopy and Woodstock blanket over his shoulders. Seeing the blanket made Dawn giggle a little, even though she knew it was a gift from Willow. “What’s up Dawn?” he asked? She knew she couldn’t fool him with a smile and giggle.
Dawn walked over to the rocker and sat down before answering. “She didn’t return my message,” Xander just nodded in understanding “but Willow and Kennedy say hi, and Faith said to remind you I’m legal now.”
“Oh, um…ugh.”
“That’s what I said,” she replied to his stammering as she started rocking in the hand carved chair. Xander had hand made every piece of furniture in his room. Actually he had made her furniture too. Her roommate had said she might like a set for herself, he did good work. “Do you know the really bad thing about it?”
“That Faith won’t stop playing matchmaker between us?”
“I meant about Buffy,” she replied, “although Kennedy is way worse than Faith.”
“Yes she is,” he said sitting on the foot of his bed, “and your not surprised.”
For a second she didn’t realize Xander had gone back to her original question. When she caught up she said, “you’re right, I’m not surprised at all. What happened to all of us, Xander? Buffy has her head up the Immortal’s ass…”
“DAWN!”
“…I’m legal now, that means I can curse if I feel it is appropriate. Willow is so absorbed in tapping the goodly essence of magic, she’s hardly aware of what is going on unless Kennedy tells her. Hell, she hasn’t realized that Buffy, her best friend, hasn’t called her since I joined the Academy. Giles is either so absorbed with the big picture that he doesn’t notice the little things, or he is so nostalgic about the old times in Sunnydale that the newest recruits are calling him “Grandpa Giles.”
“And my being in Africa can’t be making this any easier for you. You’ve spoken to Faith recently, how is she?”
“On the outs with Wood but keeping it out of her working relationship. Her and Rona keep in touch, but they are dealing with the Cleveland Hellmouth and their own batch of recruits. By the way I noticed your attempt at deflecting my rant away from you. You don’t get off that easy.” Xander answered this with a groan. “The Council has had a fully operational base in Cairo for months now, so what is so important that you haven’t left the desert for nearly three years?” she asked crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently while awaiting an answer. She could tell he wanted to tell her, but he seemed torn with indecision.
Suddenly both their pagers started making that annoying noise Andrew had programmed them to. “Saved by the chirp,” he said grabbing his pager from the nightstand as Dawn unclipped hers to check its message. “Gile’s study?” Xander asked. Dawn only nodded in response. “Lets go then Minx.”
Waiting in the study were Giles, Andrew and two faces Dawn didn’t know if Xander had met yet. The first was Dawn’s roommate, Leslie. Leslie was a striking young woman with black hair tied up into a no nonsense ponytail, clear blue eyes that were not hidden by her wire framed glasses, and a tall slender grace that bespoke her obsession with ballroom dancing. Despite their rocky start Dawn and Leslie had become great friends once they agreed to disagree on one point. Leslie’s last name was Wyndom-Pryce, and she was in fact the slain ex-Watchers young cousin and they had been close as siblings in their youth. Leslie idolized Wesley as much as she despised his father, the only “retired” Watcher Giles had not permitted to return to active duty.
The other girl was Wilhelmina Gatsby. Mina, as she preferred to be called, was the senior Slayer at the main headquarters and was responsible for the combat training of all the students. She was a grueling task-mistress and had never been seen to smile by anyone in current residence. She stood a little shorter than Dawn and was one of the few Slayers who looked as bad-ass as she really was. Muscular in build and scarred from five years of fighting a war in a hell dimension would do that to anyone though. It seems Faith had died for a short while after her fight with Buffy before graduation, and Mina had been called. But before her Watcher had time to call the Council with the news they had both been kidnapped and dragged to a hell dimension to help put the heir to the throne in her proper place. They succeeded after five years and returned home, only for her Watcher to be killed less than a month later by a common vampire. After being pulled from the brink of insanity, by none other than Faith, Mina had come to England to take the permanent position of Combat Instructor. She had earned it the hard way; fighting Buffy and Faith at the same time and being the one who walked away.
Dawn did a quick introduction for Xander and took one of the empty chairs. She noticed how Leslie’s eyes absorbed Xander’s every move and smiled to herself. She might have to squeeze some time into her hectic schedule to play cupid this week. A little later Vi and Lena joined them and Giles looked up from the book he and Leslie had been looking at.
“Ms. Wyndom-Pryce and I have been very busy,” he began, “the seer at the Devon coven just informed me of a coming war. It seems a collaboration of vampires, demons, humans, and monsters have developed a horrific theory. They believe that if they wipe out all the heroes mentioned in prophecy they can insure evils victory in it’s battle against good.”
“There are a lot of people on our side mentioned in prophecies,” Xander said.
“Quite right Xander which is why Leslie and I have just finished calling everyone in our database of Watchers, layers, and other operatives,” Giles said.
Andrew raised is hand and asked, “were you able to get hold of Angel?”
“No,” Giles answered as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, “it seems he still blames me for the deaths of most of his L.A. crew back in ’03.” Everyone but Mina stirred uncomfortably at this announcement, Leslie visibly paled. “But the others have been asked to pass the message along if possible.”
“I wish I could kill Ethan again,” Xander muttered. Now it was Giles turn to blanch. Xander was the one who figured out that Ethan Rayne, Giles old nemesis, had been affecting Giles judgment with a series of subtle spells in an attempt to destroy the new Council. During the confrontation between them, Xander had thrown Ethan off the roof of the new Council headquarters. Giles blamed himself for not being strong enough to fight the magic and save his “son” from taking a human life.
“Regardless of Angel’s anger at me we must make sure to jump at the chance to stop these fiends.” Giles continued, “Xander I hate to cut a well deserved vacation short but your task has become even more important than ever.” Xander nodded his agreement. “How soon can you be ready to leave?”
Vi answered for him. “Lena, Mina and I have already picked the next team of Slayers to go to Africa with us, so as soon as the paperwork is finished and we can get packed.”
“Good,” Giles said with obvious relief at their efficiency, “our next task is to send a team to Chattanooga, Tennessee. It seems our enemy has begun his attacks on people not under the Councils protection. However we have no Slayers or Watchers from the area.
“True but I have been there,” Mina said in her non-training voice, a near whisper.
“Who do you suggest to replace you while your gone?” Leslie asked.
“I’m going over knife techniques so Vi can fill in for me. Next to Faith and myself she’s the best Slayer with a short blade.” Vi blushed at the rare compliment.
“That will leave your team one short Xander,” Giles said, “does anyone have a suggestion as to whom can fill Vi’s place?”
“Dana,” Dawn found herself saying after a short silence, “she’s very taken with Xander, in a platonic way, and getting out of England for a while could be good for her.”
“She did help me with Ethan a while back,” Xander chimed in, “and she often sees things differently than the rest of us. That could be useful.”
“Alright then,” Giles replied, Leslie take Andrew and a few others and start researching prophecies to try and second guess these peoples next move. Xander take Lena and start making ready to depart.”
After they left Mina spoke up again. “I want to request a Watcher.”
“Of course Wilhelmina, who do you suggest?”
“Her,” Mina answered pointing at Dawn.
“Me!” Dawn exclaimed, “why me?” Dawn was extremely intimidated by the scarred Combat Instructor.
“Your not too shabby in a fight, your bloody smart, and people seem to like you on sight.”
“And you consider this important why?” Giles asked.
“These people were going to try and rescue don’t know us from Adam, or in our case Eve, and in case you haven’t noticed I am horribly lacking in people skills.” Only Mina’s deadpan expression kept the other two from wondering if she was making a joke.
“Dawn,” Giles said softly, “if you feel you are ready?”
“I’m ready,” she answered a little too quickly.
“Cool,” Mina said as she excused herself from the table. “I have time to hit a rave or two before flying out.”
“A rave?” Giles asked incuriously.
“Yes a rave,” Mina called back over her shoulder. “It’s like a soiree only more violent.”
Dawn starred in wonder at the door the woman had walked out of. “You will of course be careful?” Giles asked her. She turned around and gave him an all to rare hug and smiled up at him.
“Of course, what could go wrong?”
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